Newport Beach Builds Sand Berms as King Tides Return to Balboa Peninsula

Newport Beach crews are piling sand along the coastline this week as the National Weather Service warns of near-record tides through Thursday.

City workers are reinforcing sand berms designed to keep ocean water off nearby streets and properties. Sandbags are being staged and pumps are ready in areas prone to flooding. The weather service says ocean levels have recently run as much as 22 inches above predicted levels, raising the risk of coastal flooding and beach erosion. Low-lying streets, parking lots, bike paths and harbor walkways are the areas the agency flags as most exposed, and it says it has high confidence in the flooding threat.

Mayor Lauren Kleiman has stressed the need to prepare for a run of king tide events rather than a single week of high water. The city is reinforcing berms, deploying sandbags and assembling equipment to clear floodwater. Newport Beach is also moving ahead with a project to bring about 100,000 cubic yards of sand to eroded beaches in West Newport Beach. The city is offering free sandbags to residents and asking people in low-lying areas to move vehicles off flood-prone streets, protect property and stay off the berms.

The preparations follow two emergency declarations this month. Ocean water flooded parts of the Balboa Peninsula on October 9, leaving streets underwater, stranding vehicles and damaging homes and businesses, and the city declared a local emergency in response. On October 19, during a special City Council meeting, Newport Beach issued a second emergency declaration, its second in 11 days, and activated its Emergency Operations Center ahead of the next round of tides. Another period of exceptionally high tides begins today, October 26, with flooding and erosion concerns running through Thursday.

Metrolink is suspending train service between the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo and Oceanside stations from Monday, October 26, through Friday, October 30 because of the high tides. No replacement buses will run during the suspension, and service continues north of the Laguna Niguel/Mission Viejo station. The coastal flood warning remains in effect through Thursday afternoon, and city officials have said this week's tides are the first in a series of unusually high tides expected in November, December and into the new year.